Image processing apparatuses such as electronic cameras for recording/reproducing still images and moving images on/from memory cards having solid memory elements as recording media have already been available on the market. Some apparatuses have an electronic zoom function and recording mode setting function.
According to these image processing apparatuses such as electronic cameras, photographing can be done at a field angle larger than the focal length of a mounted optical lens, the compression ratio of a photographed image can be set to a predetermined value, and a photographed image can be recorded without compression.
In the electronic zoom function, however, since a portion of a photographed image is extracted and enlarged and the resultant image is recorded, the image quality tends to deteriorate. If, therefore, the recording mode is set to a low-compression-ratio mode or non-compression mode to prevent a deterioration in image quality, and the electronic zoom function is executed, a degraded image is recorded against the original intention of preventing a deterioration in image quality.